Chapter 48: What Do We Want?
"Whilikers! That was one heck of a party last night!" Stinky exclaimed, as the group waited by the bus for Arnold and Helga to return.
"I know! Great hotel suggestion Rhonda!" Sid replied, as the group turned to look at her.
"Well, I'm sure the next one of you to get married won't hesitate to book me as your planner." Rhonda said proudly, putting a hand on her waist.
"Speakin' of weddin's, where are Arnold and Helga?" Stinky asked.
Back at the Beach house
Hearing the alarm on his phone go off, Arnold bent down on the floor to turn it off. Helga still laying on top of him, barely nudged at the feel of her warm husband move. As he kissed the top of her head, he said softly "It's time to get up sweetie. We can't miss the bus."
Squeezing him tighter, she rubbed her legs against him, pulling the covers further over them. At that point, she didn't care if they stayed in that position forever. She couldn't be happier with the way things were.
He knew she wasn't going to get off him willingly. He began to sit up, sadly having to push her off of him. She began to rub her eyes, not looking too happy with him. "Gee, thanks for killing the mood AND my sleep pattern Arnoldo!"
"You can sleep on the bus. We can't miss it." he replied, smiling at her witty remark. The two of them began to pack their bags, as Helga took one last look out the window. This time her memory of this place would be the perfect wedding she had with Arnold, the day her family showed they actually cared about her, and the night she and her husband celebrated the feelings they had built for each other over the years.
"Ready to go?" he asked, as they grabbed their things. "I've BEEN ready, football head." she scowled, turning away from the window.
The two began to walk down the stairs and out the front door. "It's funny not seeing a drunk Miriam sitting on the porch." Helga sighed.
Arnold turned to her confused. "I thought you said she stayed sober during this trip?" Helga began to snort, not bothering to look at him as she replied "Her first five minutes out here, she had a smoothie in her hands. It wouldn't have taken her long if she hadn't found someone to entertain her."
Arnold put a free hand to her back as he said, "It's even better that she stayed sober last night. If there was one moment in your life for her to give her full attention to, that was the right one."
Helga turned to smile as the two walked along the peaceful shore. The wind blowing, the water rushing, the seagulls flying. "Did you watch that episode of Babe Watch we were on together?" Arnold asked, trying to break the silence. Helga raised part of her brow at him, implying what a dumb question that was. "Doi! Only about a thousand times! Sheesh!"
"My grandpa made fun of me for awhile." he laughed as she gave him a confused look. "Why is that?" Knowing she wouldn't like the answer, he replied "Because he could tell you were actually kissing me; not trying to give me mouth to mouth resuscitation." Her eyes widened as she began to blush. "Crimity! Will he EVER give us a break?!" she exclaimed as Arnold laughed. "No. You better get used to it." he warned her as she shook her head. "Sheesh!"
The two then came within sight of the bus as they saw their friends waiting for them.
"Hey guys! Sorry we're a little late." Arnold apologized, as Helga went to say goodbye to her family.
"Hey Arnold! How was your night? You two have 'fun' together?" Sid asked as Arnold rolled his eyes. "Come on Sid."
Rhonda interrupted as she answered "Yeah, I mean what else would they have been doing? All alone...in a beach house."
Arnold blushed terribly as he went to go find Gerald.
Meanwhile, Helga had just found her family loading their things into the car. "Oh baby sister! We had so much fun! I've got your dress in the back seat!"
Helga rubbed her arm as she looked down at the ground, not really knowing what to say. "Yeah thanks. Umm…"
Her parents stared, knowing she had something to say as Olga broke the tension. "What is it baby sister?"
Helga scratched the back of her head, still not making eye contact. "Listen, I don't know if you guys actually wanted to come, or if it was just something Olga made you do. Either way, it meant a lot to us. And..and..it was really... *Gulp* ...nice of you to pay for an apartment. It took care of a lot of problems. So...thanks...mom and dad."
Her parents smiled at one another before Miriam hugged her. Bob patted her on the back as he replied "Glad we could make it. See ya Helga."
As the family was turning to get in the car, Olga screamed "Wait daddy! I want a family picture to keep on my phone!"
Crimity! I knew I should have just emailed them.
As they looked around for someone to take the picture, they saw Arnold walking over. "Hey Helga. You ready to go?"
"Oh Arnold! Could you take a family picture for me to keep on my phone!" Olga asked as Arnold smiled, holding out his hand for the camera. "Sure! Everyone get together!"
The four of them stood close, and actually looked happy to be a family for once. Arnold could see the loving look in all of their eyes. It once again filled his heart with joy to see them at last accept Helga.
"There we go!" he said, handing the phone back to Olga. "Oh goody! Well, we'll see you later baby sister! Have a safe trip!" she exclaimed as Helga gave a weak smile. "See ya."
Looking over at her husband's loving eyes, she found the courage to ask "One more thing."
"What is it, sweetie?" Miriam turned to look at Helga.
"Well, we umm, we're kind of going to San Lorenzo for our honeymoon. The day after we get back to Hillwood." she began as Bob gave a questioning look. "San Lorenzo huh? There's a place I don't miss. Those people didn't buy a single one of my beepers!"
Rolling her eyes at the return of his business like attitude, Helga continued. "Anyway, we were wondering if we could borrow the plane for the trip? That is, if you still have it. I know that piece of junk was….OW!" She felt Arnold elbow her as he could see her returning to her negative attitude towards them.
"Yeah, I guess I could get someone to fly you out there." Bob replied as Arnold's eyes lit up. "That's great! We're only staying for a day or two. Just long enough to get to the Green eyed village." Arnold began
"Yeesh! Well, alright then. I'll talk to the guy who flew us out there when you kids were in trouble. See if he can meet you there tomorrow morning." Bob offered as Arnold raised his voice in excitement "Thanks Mr. Pataki!"
"Uh huh. Let's get going Miriam. I don't know what all that Gino kid's doing to my store." Bob insisted.
Watching them drive away, Arnold noticed a new look in Helga's eyes. Holding her hand, he asked "Are you okay?" She turned to him as she replied "Yeah, I've just got this weird feeling in my stomach. It's almost like I care that they're leaving?"
"I think you miss them already." he said, squeezing her hand tightly.
"What? Are you kidding?!" she exclaimed as he looked at her with half lidded eyes.
"You're closer to them now. It's only natural to miss them." he explained, kissing her on the cheek. The two then walked back to the bus as they saw everyone boarding it.
The kids all took the same seats they chose on the ride up to the beach. The newly wed couple met their two best friends in the back, waiting to hear about their night at the hotel. "Hey Gerald! How was the hotel?"
"It was great man! You should have heard Stinky and Sid compete for best Karaoke singer!" Gerald exclaimed as Helga raised part of her brow. "I guess Princess was right. You should have picked underaged drinking."
"So who won?" Arnold asked, as Gerald replied "Well, Stinky's bad grammar kind of gave Sid an advantage."
"Pttss...no surprises there!" Helga exclaimed as Rhonda nodded. "It didn't exactly help Eugene's chance of winning when he fell off the stage either."
"It was just oh so much fun listening to them sing while we ate and talked with each other though." Lila admitted, turning around in her seat.
"I'm sure you mean pigged out and made fun of them." Helga corrected her, leaning back against the back of the bus seat.
Eventually, listening to their talk of bad singing and overeating put Helga to sleep. She collapsed on Arnold's shoulder, as the kids all stared at her.
"Man, what did you two do last night?" Gerald insisted on knowing, as Arnold rolled his eyes. "Gerald she's just a little tired. It was a big day for us yesterday!"
"Whatever you say Arnold." Gerald replied as their friends all gave each other knowing looks. Arnold began to rub Helga's face softly, as Phoebe smiled at the sight. She wanted to thank her again for the bouquet, but knew how upset the other girls would be if they found it she hadn't really lost it.
Finally making it back to Hillwood and The Knot, the bus pulled up at their stopping point. Arnold began to nudge Helga, hoping she would be easier to get up this time. Thankfully, there wasn't much of a problem. Rubbing her eyes as she sat up, she immediately remembered where they had been. "Are we back already?" she asked, hearing a small laugh come from Arnold. "It only seems quick because you've been asleep almost the entire ride."
"Yeah, yeah, just hand me my bag, hairboy!" she exclaimed, walking in front of him. Gerald shook his head, noticing the lovesick look hadn't left his friends eyes. "You really do like 'em rough, don't you?" Gerald asked. Ignoring his friend's comment, he followed his wife out of the bus, and into the parking lot. As they stood outside, he said to her "Guess we get to go home now and count down the hours for the trip tomorrow."
"Guess so, football head." she replied, stretching her arms. "I'm really excited about this Helga. It was really nice of your dad to do all that stuff for us." Arnold said, taking her hand in his.
"Yeah, I gotta say, I didn't see that one coming. Olga works wonders on people." she said wittingly.
"Come on Helga, you know he had to have had some feelings for you all along. It wasn't just your sister convincing him to like you." Arnold insisted as she placed her free hand on her hip.
"Just because you want to become a therapist doesn't mean I need you to be mine. Sheesh!" she exclaimed as she headed for the car."
"Whatever you say Helga." he insisted, carrying both their bags, following behind her.
Making it there, Arnold's family was waiting to once again congratulate them with open arms. "There's the happy couple! I can't believe our son is married!" Stella exclaimed as she hugged them both.
"Way to go shortman! I'm proud of you!" Phil exclaimed, as he rubbed his grandson on the head.
They all crammed into the car with their luggage, only one thing on all their minds; San Lorenzo, but for different reasons. Arnold and Helga were anxious to revisit the place that was the start of their mutual loving feelings towards one another. The place where Arnold finally realized how he felt about Helga and where Helga discovered there had been a reason to hold onto her hope of there being a chance he would love her after all those years.
Miles and Stella were happy to see their son spending his honeymoon with the Green eyes. People who had always been like family to them, would always be one of their greatest memories shared with their son.
Phil and Pookey were nervous something terrible might happen...yet again. They could be captured, become ill, or never return. After all, they were leaving at an even younger age than Miles and Stella were when they went on their last mission to San Lorenzo.
After a long silent drive back to the boarding house, they reached their destination. Arnold and Helga anxiously grabbed their things as they headed up the stairs to his bedroom. It was a wonder they weren't trampled by the herd of animals, seeing as how they weren't thinking about them as they opened the door. "Whoa! What's your hurry guys? Don't you want us to fix you some lunch?" Miles asked, as Arnold barely turned his head to respond. "Uhh we'll be down to eat in awhile. We have to pack for the trip tomorrow...although they had done it already."
Miles simply shrugged his shoulders as he and the rest of the adults went into the kitchen.
"Crimity! We're not adding anything else. We're packing light for this trip if there's any hiking involved! I was almost grateful we lost our luggage on our last trip!" Helga exclaimed, after dragging their things to the bedroom.
"I just said that, so we'd have an excuse not to sit with them. I'll never forget how cute you looked in your tight fitted tank top, with your shirt wrapped around your waist. Had I not been so scared about what was going to happen to us during the trip, I might have taken more time to enjoy it." he said, walking up behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist. She gulped at the idea of what could have happened.
Is he serious? Would he have really felt that way if his stupid parents weren't taking up his entire mind's attention? Oh my beloved! This time will be so different for us!
As she began to turn around to face him, she heard her phone beep. He let go of her, not happy the moment was ruined.
"It's Bob. He says the guy will be ready to fly us out there tomorrow at 5 am. So, are we going to take a boat or hike or what to get to those Green Eyes? I don't think this guy can land the plane next to their village." she smirked.
"I don't think the river travels all the way up to their village. We'll have to hike some of the way. That is, if this pilot if willing to land the plane in San Lorenzo and stay for the night. We can be back to him the next evening." Arnold suggested, scratching the back of his hand, as Helga sent the request to Bob.
"Okay, we're in." she replied unenthusiastically, while Arnold was unable to hold back his emotions. "That's great!"
Running up to her, he pulled her in for an aggressive kiss, as she kept her hands to her sides, thinking to herself I must really be rubbing off on him.
Before having a chance to push her onto the bed, Arnold heard his phone beep. Sighing at the idea of once again being interrupted, he went over to answer it. "Gerald wants to know if we'd like to come over and celebrate at his place, since we're leaving tomorrow."
Shrugging her shoulders, she replied "I guess so. I didn't really get to talk to Pheebs on the bus anyways."
"Yeah, you passed out pretty quick." he laughed as she pointed a finger in his face. "Hey! If you hadn't made me show my aggressiveness to you last night, that wouldn't have happened."
Raising an eyebrow at her, he replied "So what you're saying is, you're willing to accept the challenge of being in charge, there's just no guarantee you can handle it." He laughed as she began to clench her fists. Seeing him open the door, she threw him against it, slamming it shut. "I'll show YOU who can't handle something!"
Dragging him over to the bed, she threw him on top of it. Curious to see where this would go, he didn't put up a fight. Besides, he knew how bad things could get if he didn't let her have her way.
As she turned to head for the desk, she watched him start to sit up. "Don't move a muscle!" she scowled as he rolled his eyes, leaning back on the bed "Whatever you say Helga."
If she thinks I'm afraid of sex, she's crazy. After all, I was the one asking her to be aggressive last night? He thought to himself, as he then saw her hovering over him with the box of condoms.
"You really think I'm afraid of seeing you put your 'aggressive' behavior to use on me?" he laughed as she then pulled the ribbon from her hair. "Maybe not, but we haven't used this in awhile. Like you said, I was 'pretty tired' earlier. Give me a chance to make up for it, football head!"
Arnold's eyes widened as she yanked him up to pull off his shirt. She didn't waste any time tying his hands behind his back. Laying on top of him, both their legs hanging off the bed, she traced a finger up and down from his stomach to his lips. Looking into his almost fearful eyes, she said "Just let me take care of things. After all, you said you missed my rough side."
Laying his head back, he began to breathe heavily as he felt her pulling his pants off. She wrapped her arms around his neck as she leaned over the bed to kiss him. Shoving her tongue down his throat, she pulled him in closer, placing a hand behind his head. He laid there thinking to himself
Is it a good or bad thing I said something to her? Not that I don't love this, but for the rest of our relationship, she'll never give into the thought of weakness. Not even as a joke. Then again, I'm the one who said I missed her rough side? Maybe neither of us knows what we want. It hasn't even been a full twenty four hours, and my mind is already rushing with questions.
As she let go of his tongue, she began to kiss his chest. He laid there finding it a bit odd that she hadn't begun to remove anything from herself. "So, is it just me, who gets to be stripped down?" he asked as she lifted her head back up with an intensive stare "Hey! Who's in charge here?"
She was so complexing. One minute she was sensitive because she thought he didn't want her to be aggressive, now here she was being aggressive all because she felt challenged.
Tired of hanging over the bed, she picked his legs up to turn him over and laid his head on the pillow. She sat up to then take her own shirt off as she watched his cheeks turn pink. "What's wrong? I thought you wanted me to be in charge." she smirked as he continued to look at her.
"Earth to Arnold? Say something!" she exclaimed, leaning towards him. "I'm just waiting for your next move. Will it be aggressive or sensitive? You seem to have a way of changing things. I don't know if it's me that does it to you, or something you decide on your own. Either way, it's interesting." he replied as her eyes widened.
Doi! Of course you're the reason I act the way I do when I do! It's not like you're anymore sure of what pleases you than I am!
She thought to herself, as she turned away a moment. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt your 'showing me how it's done' challenge." he laughed, as she turned back to face him.
"You should be sorry!" she exclaimed as she pulled off his underwear. Placing the condom on for him, she began to run her hand up and down it. Chills were sent throughout his body as he let out a deep breath. Continuing to rub him with one hand, she reached across his naked body to pull his head up with the other. Pressing her lips against his, she began to massage his tongue with hers as she did his member with her hand. She could feel him trying to pull away to say something, but wouldn't allow it. He wanted aggressive, he was going to get it. She began to wrap her tongue around his, making it impossible for him to move it. As she did this, she removed her hand from his lower part to place firmly on his chest. She dug her nails into his skin, as the two began to moan. She didn't want to give him the satisfaction of resting his tongue, but even she needed a breath.
"So, what were you trying to say before?" she smirked, as he panted heavily. His heart pounding as they both felt her moving up and down by his heavily breathing chest, he replied "I was just wondering if you were ever going to take your pants off?"
Letting go of his chest, she sat up. "Easy there headboy! I haven't even taken my bra off." she pointed out, as she began to do so. It was hard for Arnold to lay there and witness that. As much as he loved her dominance and passion, he wanted to be the one to do it for her. Watching her do it herself was almost like watching another person do it for her rather than him. She could see him begin to struggle as she laid her bare chest against his. "Is this any better?" she asked.
Sweat began to form on his face as the rest of him began to shake. "I...I guess so." She began sucking on his neck as she ran her fingers slowly up and down his sides. "This is torture" he finally said, as she lifted her head up and grinned. "That was all I needed to hear."
She sat up to get off the bed. Arnold turned with his heart pounding to see her taking her pants and underwear off. She then sat down on top of him, their lower parts together, as she looked into his eyes. "Now that I said you're basically number one, are you going to untie me?" he asked as she raised part of her eyebrow. "Pttss...what do you think?"
Shoving him further inside her, she rubbed as hard as she could. Leaning down to squeeze his shoulders tight as she twisted her tongue around his. Pressing their noses together, she could feel his heavy breathing against her own. They were so lost in each other, nothing could interrupt their thoughts.
Downstairs
Miles, Stella, Phil and Pookey were all sitting in the kitchen eating sandwiches when they heard a knock at the door. "I'll get it." Phil offered, having been the first one to finish his sandwich. He opened the door to see Gerald and Phoebe standing outside.
"Hey kids, what brings you here?" Phil asked as Gerald gave a questioning look. "Arnold said he and Helga were coming to meet us at my place. It's been about an hour and we still haven't heard from them though."
"Hmmm? Well I know they're still here. They must not be finished packing for their trip. You can go up and see if you like." Phil offered as the two kids went inside and up the stairs. "I hope everything's okay?" Phoebe said curiously as Gerald added "You know how distracted those two get. I'm sure they're fine."
Mmm...Mmmm...Ohhh...Ooohhh...Mmmm
Gerald and Phoebe looked at each other, as they heard strange noises coming from the end of the hall. "What do you suppose it is Gerald?" she asked as he didn't hesitate to open Arnold's door.
There he saw his best friend tied with his hands behind his back and what used to be his best friend's worst enemy on top of him. The faster Helga rubbed him, the harder he moaned. He laid there shaking, ready to burst from the anticipation of wanting to wrap his arms around her. As Helga released their lips, their eyes stayed focused on each other. Arnold, while meaning to whisper, couldn't control his pants. "Please untie me, so I can hold you!"
Gerald's jaw dropped at these words. He knew his friend was married now, but still had a hard time witnessing this. Phoebe, while having been behind him this entire time, stepped closer to see what was so antagonizing. Immediately, she covered his eyes and pulled him outside. Trying to shut the door as quietly as possible.
The two stood at the bottom of the steps at the moment as Gerald finally found his words. "I'm not sure I can ever unsee that!"
Phoebe began to smile as she replied "You know they love each other Gerald."
Shaking his head, he looked back at the door "Mm...mm...mmm. I don't know what's crazier. The idea of her doing that to him, or the fact that he's enjoying it!"
"Well, what should we do? I don't want to interrupt their time together." Phoebe thought out loud.
"I'm sure as heck not going to be the one to interrupt them!" Gerald exclaimed as Phoebe smiled "Perhaps we should just go back to your place and let them contact us when they feel like it."
"IF they feel like it. They were hittin' it pretty hard in there!" Gerald pointed out as Phoebe lead him out the boarding house.
Back in the Bedroom
"Ooohh...ooohhh….Please untie me!" he begged as she gave him an evil smile. "Hey, if I recall correctly, you're the one who made up this game. I'm starting to enjoy it."
"Very funny Helga!" He panted loudly as she traced her finger up and down his chest. Laying her head down on him a moment she reached her hands behind his back. "I guess I've made my point." she replied as he felt his hands being released.
Immediately, he wrapped his arms around her. Flipping their positions, he grinned "Now it's my turn!" She rolled her eyes as she replied "Good luck, you're having enough trouble breathing as it is hairboy!"
Knowing she was right, he wasn't willing to dignify that with a response. Instead, he simply pressed his lips softly against hers, running his fingers through her hair. Sucking her tongue gently, he began to massage her breasts. The two let out deep, exhausting sighs through their noses. While his member stayed inside her, neither of them felt energized enough to move.
Out of strength, he let go of her tongue, and continued to lay on top of her, their lips pressed together, with his arms wrapped around her. Having her arms at her sides, she tried to turn her head to say "We forgot about Phoebe and Gerald!"
Arnold would have jumped from fear had he not been so exhausted. Instead, he lifted his head and replied "I'll just text and say something came up."
"Like, you being taken advantage of?" she smirked, as he tried lifting himself off her. "Whatever you say Helga."
"Hey Gerald, sorry we lost track of time. Something came up."
"Yeah, I know."
"You did?"
"I mean, don't worry about it."
"Are you sure?"
"It's cool man."
"Okay, thanks."
"Later."
Setting his phone aside, Helga had just finished getting dressed. "So, how upset was he?"
"Not at all. It's almost like he knew we weren't going to come?" Arnold said, wondering what Gerald could have meant by Yeah, I know.
"Hmm...well, we can do something now if he wants to?" she suggested. "I guess I could see if we could still come over." he replied.
"Alright, I'll be downstairs. I need some water after that workout." she replied.
Going into the kitchen, Helga poured herself some water, just as Phil was entering. "Hey shortman's wife. How goes the packing?" Phil asked, as Helga rubbed her neck. "Oh fine. Just fine."
Arnold then entered the room to say, "He said it's fine if we still go over there." Phil couldn't help but ask. "Who said what about you going where?"
"Gerald said Helga and I could go to his place." Arnold replied as Phil rubbed his chin. "That's funny. The kid was just here a few minutes ago."
Arnold and Helga's eyes widened as Arnold replied "What are you talking about?"
"He and a little asian girl knocked on the door lookin' for you, so I sent 'em upstairs to your room!" Phil explained.
Helga nearly fell over as Arnold turned beet red. "Did they say anything on the way down?" he asked as Phil replied "No, but come to think of it, they did leave in an awful big hurry."
Helga set her glass down, as she felt her arm shaking heavily. Arnold smacked his face with his hand We have GOT to start locking the door!
"Alright, thanks grandpa." he said, as the two left for their best friend's house. Not sure it was such a good idea anymore.
"See ya shortman!" Phil waved to the two newlyweds as they hurried out the door. Helga looked for a rock to kick on the sidewalk as she scowled "I cannot believe he saw us! I don't know what's worse? Our best friend's seeing me take advantage of you or your lame-o cousin taking advantage of me!"
Arnold took her hand as he replied "Come on Helga, it's just Gerald and Phoebe. Besides, we're married now. It's not like people don't expect that from married couples."
Sighing deeply, she replied "Yeah, yeah, let's just go. The sooner we face them, the sooner we can pretend this never happened."
Gerald's House
"Man! I don't know what I'm going to do when those two get here?" Gerald exclaimed as Phoebe couldn't help but roll her eyes. "You've seen them express their feelings in the cafeteria Gerald. It's really not that big a deal."
"Have I ever enjoyed it though?" he countered as they suddenly heard a knock at the door. "That must be them."
Opening it, he saw Arnold with his hands behind his back, having trouble making eye contact, and Helga looking away with her arms crossed. "Hey Gerald." Arnold greeted him, as Gerald invited him in.
Helga immediately went to find Phoebe, hoping she wouldn't have to worry about her best friend giving her any grief over the situation.
"Hello Helga!" Phoebe greeted her, as the two sat together on the couch.
"Hey Pheebs, how's it goin'?" she asked, trying to keep a calm attitude.
"Quite well. I never got a chance to thank you for the bouquet when we were on the bus." she replied, as Helga began to smile. "Don't mention it Pheebs. It's the least I could do."
Gerald and Arnold then entered the room, as the two decided to keep a safe distance from the girls on the couch. Arnold saw the nervous look in Gerald's eyes and could no longer deal with the silence. "Alright Gerald, we know you saw us. You can relax."
Clenching her fists, Helga butted in "Hey! Who said you could bring that up headboy?!"
"Helga, this is stupid. We're married, they know how long we've been together, they know we've had sex already…" Arnold began as Gerald interrupted "Yeah, but the way you two were doing it! I mean, you with your hands tied behind your back while she was just riding you like some kind of a pony? It was just so...aggressive!"
Arnold blushed heavily as Helga gave him a look That's checkmate, football head!
"Alright Gerald. You've made your point. Let's just forget about it." Arnold insisted as Gerald shook his head. "I'll try man, but I'm not making any promises."
Helga rolled her eyes and crossed her arms as she laid back on the couch. "Whatever. So are we celebrating, or was what you saw just too much of a mood killer for you?"
"Gerald and I thought it might be fun to visit the rainforest exhibit your parents are always talking about, since we won't be joining you in San Lorenzo this time." Phoebe suggested as Arnold smiled. "Sounds like fun! Let's go!"
The four of them then headed out the door for the Botanical Gardens. Arnold and Helga walked and in hand as Gerald and Phoebe walked slowly behind them. "I remember when the first day of sixth grade started. I came running downstairs, thinking it was all a dream that I had found my parents. Then when they came out of the kitchen, they suggested we go see this exhibit." Arnold explained as Helga shook her head "If that trip was a dream, someone owes me big for that video I made of you!"
Listening in on their conversation, Gerald said to Phoebe "Now that I'm reminded of all that footage she had of Arnold, I'm leaning on her being more obsessive than aggressive."
The four then made it to the exhibit. Outside the saw a sign the read "Rainforest Adventure" with an information direction page.
To the right showed the rainforest currently being saved. North showed saved acres of the Atlantic. South showed lost acres of the Atlantic. To the left was survivals of rainforest in Argentina.
Walking through those paths, being surrounded by those trees, reminded each kid of the long hike they took to what they thought would be a safe habitat by who they thought was Eduardo. Hiking through muddy trails and bug infested rivers, topped off with heated temperatures to what felt like the sun itself.
In the exhibit they saw all types of animals. Snakes, parrots, monkeys, frogs, fish. As Helga looked around, she said "Too bad Curly isn't here. This place is a zoo crying out for help."
"Rainforests are quite helpful to animals Helga, as well as educational for those interested in learning about the environment." Phoebe pointed out as the four of them continued to look around.
"Look over there man!" Gerald pointed out, as the group turned their attention to a giant turtle. "So, it's a turtle? Big deal!" Helga exclaimed as Arnold said "It looks just like Lockjaw."
"Man, what is it with you and sea creatures? I swear, when we have a kid, you're not taking him to the aquarium!" Helga scowled, not realizing what she had just said. The group turned their heads towards her as her eyes began to widen. Arnold smiled, reaching his hand out for hers, as she began to cross her arms. "Don't get so cozy, buster!"
Wrapping his arm around hers to pull her in closer, he said loud enough for them to hear "I think it's a little late for that demand."
She began to blush furiously as Gerald could feel a knot forming in his stomach. "Man, I'm sorry I pointed anything out."
After a few hours of searching around. Viewing the different plants and walkways, the group decided to head out.
"Would you two like to get something to eat?" Phoebe asked, assuming Gerald would be okay with it. Arnold looked at Helga as he replied "Thanks, but we never started packing earlier. We need to make sure our stuff is ready in the morning."
The two then hugged their friends goodbye, as they headed back to the boarding house. "Now that I think about it, we haven't eaten all day. You must be hungry?" Arnold asked, regretting his decision.
"Eh, we can find something at home. I can just have some cereal or a sandwich." Helga said, shrugging her shoulders.
Arnold rolled his eyes at her sad remark as he replied, "You are not having cereal. I'll make you something. Better yet, my parents probably saved us some dinner."
Helga began to blush at his caring personality. Their hands swung back and forth together, until she broke the silence "I didn't hurt you did I?"
"What are you talking about?" he asked, looking at her confusingly.
"Gerald said he could tell how aggressive I was being with you. I was just trying to enjoy my time with you. Now that I think about it, I may have taken things too far. I mean crimity, you were begging me to let you go." she replied as he gripped her hand tighter.
"I was just enjoying myself so much, I wanted to return the favor on you. It was as if the passion you have inside you was passed on to me, but I wasn't allowed to show it, all because I was tied down. It was like there was an animal inside me, begging to be released, but the key was missing." Arnold tried to explain, as Helga knew what he meant.
"I understand. I felt the same way when I was tied up...at first. There were times when I was willing to let myself be vulnerable to you." she explained as she felt herself begin to blush.
Before they knew it, they were back at the boarding house. Remembering to stand back this time, they watched the animals pour out the door. "None of those things are living in our apartment football head!" she exclaimed.
"Except for Abner." he countered.
"Which one is he?" she asked as the two walked into the kitchen. "The pig." he said bluntly as she scoffed "Of course."
Arnold began rummaging through the fridge as Helga took a seat at the table. "I can heat us up some of these leftover noodles?" he suggested as Helga shrugged her shoulders "Works for me."
After a few minutes in the microwave, Arnold grabbed a couple of forks and some sodas to go with their pasta. Helga loved seeing something other than cereal in her dinner bowl every night. "Thanks football head!" she exclaimed, shoveling her food down as usual.
"No problem. So what did you think of the exhibit?" he asked as she took a sip of her soda. "Kind of hard to be impressed with something like that after already seeing the real thing."
Arnold nodded his head, seeing her point. "Yeah, it definitely wasn't the same thing." Slurping her last noodle, she replied "Seeing as how there was no ship to wreck, La Sombra to avoid, or Green Eyes to save, I should say not."
The two of them took their bowls to the sink, as they headed upstairs. After a moment of listening to the creaks in the floor going down the hallway, Arnold said "I can't believe we didn't hear them walk in on us?"
Helga scratched the back of her head as she sighed "Well we were pretty into it. You wanted to be untied and I was just thinking about proving I wasn't all talk. The last thing either of us was thinking about was expecting company."
Letting out a small laugh, he took her hand. "Were you serious about having kids? Actually choosing to have one as opposed to accidently."
"I don't know. Maybe one day. We've got quite a few years to think about that though." she pointed out, hoping that would take his mind off the subject.
"Yeah you're right." he replied, as the two entered his bedroom.
Helga began to search for her bag as she said "Well, guess I'll check my bag; make sure I've got everything I need for the trip. We did get a bit 'distracted' last time, thanks to you!"
Taking her hand in his, his began to caress it. Looking into her eyes, he said softly "I'm really excited about this. It means a lot to me that we're going...and that I have someone to 'aggressive' there to protect me."
Rolling her eyes at him, she replied "Oh shut up Arn…" but was interrupted by his soft sweet lips. Laying on top of her, he put both hands around her face, gently wiping her tongue with his from side to side. She began to hold his arms, tempted to start another battle with him. The way he was touching her, holding her face, tickling her tongue, breathing softly onto her through his nose, was all just so relaxing. Releasing their lips, slow enough to hear a smacking sound, he added "I needed someone like that last time. You're the perfect partner...and not just for this trip."
She swooned as he gave her another quick kiss on the lips. "We should get ready for bed. Big day tomorrow!" he said, anxiously helping her up. Helga changed into her nightgown, as she saw Arnold holding the condoms. "Do you think the Green Eyes know what these are?" he asked jokingly.
"Ummm I don't think those people even know what sex is. Their village probably lives on through reincarnation!" she scowled as Arnold set the box down.
"I don't know. You seemed to think otherwise when you saw the lead girl holding my hand on our last trip there." he reminded her, with half-lidded eyes.
Climbing into bed, under the covers, she scowled "Hey! I was doing you a favor bucko! She could have had some sort of creepy green village disease!"
Rolling his eyes, he crawled in beside her, as he grabbed his remote to turn out the lights. "Whatever you say Helga. Good night."
